Oh my, it's him!
by Lu82
Summary: Brian Molko has to deal with a very obsessed fan in love with him, who pesters him restlessly. What's so odd about that? Maybe the fact that said fan happens to be named… Matthew Bellamy!
1. Prologue:

OH MY, IT'S HIM!

Setting: Teignmouth, from June 2000 on

It's a kind of half AU, because in this story Placebo exist , but Muse (I mean the band) don't, at least not yet. Maybe something could happen as the story goes on…

And I know that 'Black Market Music ' has been realized in 2000, but I don't know exactly when. Let's pretend it's at the beginning of the year (Feb-March), ok?

Pairing: uh! very messy: mainly it's BellDom (you can figure that out by the prologue ) , but it's also Brian /Stefan, Brian/Matt, Stefan/Dom (yeah, I'm obsessed with those pairings, but I'm much more obsessed with BellDom, lol! ), … and the mess could even increase!

DISCLAIMER : Why do I have always to say the same thing? I don't own and know even a single cell of all these real characters, all the plot is totally invented and fake and I take the responsibility of every absurd situation I'm gonna put them into.

Plus, every chapter title is made by some lyrics of Placebo's or Muse's songs.

Feedback: Makes me happier than Kelly and Chris having a baby!

Summary: Brian Molko has to deal with a very obsessed fan in love with him, who pesters him restlessly. What's so odd about that? Maybe the fact that said fan happens to be named… Matthew Bellamy!

Prologue: I just gotta get off my chest that I think you're divine.

It wasn't due to the bells that struck the hours, nine in the morning.

It wasn't due to the cheerful birds that tweeted harmoniously, perching on the branch of the tree in front of his open window.

It wasn't due to the shining light of the sunbeam that entered his bedroom, as jaunty as unusual.

It wasn't even due to his alarm clock that simply had to accomplish its daily job.

No.

Matthew woke up just due to a beep. A beep from his mobile that warned him about the arrival of a SMS. And then a short ring followed it. And since that ringtone was matched just and only to a person, Matt already knew who it was.

Still a little bit numb, he grabbed his mobile in order to see first the missed call and then the message.

'Hey, sleepyhead, I've been already up for two hours and I've just finished my jogging at the beach. Have you already looked out the window? It seems that even the sky that usually is leaden and grey has given its present for you. Happy Birthday, Matteh! Tonight is * the night *, you promised that to me, don't forget it. See ya in half an hour at our same place. Dom '

Matthew smiled as with a short ring he signaled to the other boy that he had read his message.

After stretching one last time, he finally decided to get up and woke him up properly with a quick shower.

Once he was refreshed and in a better shape, covered only by a blue bath towel knotted around his waist, he opened his closet, glancing at all his clothes, before drawing out a pair of blue jeans and the first t-shirt that was in reach.

Because, after glancing at his clock, he realized that his time was running out.

And he knew very well how much Dominic hated waiting for people, especially for him.

As he started thinking that maybe that quick shower hadn't be so quick as he expected, Matthew rushed down the stairs, without greeting anyone, due to the simple reason that there was nobody left at home.

He arrived to their same place, i.e. the most isolated beach of the coast , where near the seashore there was a ship that had been moored there for years.

It was the same ship where they had played the sailors or the pirates when they were kid, the same ship where they went to study, or rather to pretend to do that, before some examinations, and at the end ditching school always ended up to be the best solution for them.

And it was the same ship that had been the background of the very first kiss they had shared, some months before. A kiss that had made them both realize that they wanted from each other much more than a simple friendship, no matter how big and deep it was.

The more he got closer to the shore, the more the figure of a gorgeous, young, blond guy with colorful clothes became more defined.

And blond wasn't even the proper word to describe him, since his hair was actually bright orange, but it was a color that suited him, a lot.

About Matthew, also his electrical blue hair suited the former brunette, a lot.

They had decided to dye their hair in that bizarre way the same day, because it was symbolic: once they had decided to be together, in order to prove to themselves that that wasn't the craziest thing they were doing, they had chosen those showy DIY hair colors without any hesitations.

It had begun as a joke, but since they had appreciated the results a lot, they had been proudly showing off those hairstyles for five months.

"It's exactly 9:30 a.m. I'm impressed by your progresses!" Dominic exclaimed as he walked towards him.

"You, heartless being! You don't let me have some rest even at my birthday!" the other complained.

"But have you seen what a beautiful day is it?" Dom struck back.

"Hey, Mr. Live-Wire, have you seen what time is it?" Matt made him notice.

"You're right. I'm sorry." he pretended to apologize. "I should have woken you up earlier!" he sneered.

"That's not what I meant!"

"I know, you, champion of all the chronic lazy asses!" the boy snorted.

"Dom, c'mon. Today there's no school. Plus I don't even have to work. So, why didn't you let me stay in my bed? Was I asking too much?"

"Yep, if I can't be in that bed with you!" the other protested.

"Oh. By the way, you know, my house is free, now. Mom has gone to the station to catch Paul, it will take them at least a couple of hours. " Matthew informed him, suggestive.

"Really?" the other was about to surrender. "Gee, Matt, no, don't tempt me. You know, it won't happen if first we don't… " he reminded to him as they sat on the ship.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, it's not that we have still so much to wait. It's tonight!" the blue haired guy stated.

"So, are you really sure about it?" the other wondered with a look plenty of expectations.

"Of course I am. Tonight everyone will be there. There couldn't be a better opportunity!"

"It's so nice that you have waited just for your birthday… " Dominic whispered as he put his head on his shoulder.

"My birthday is just a coincidence. I want to wait until midnight, because after midnight it will be tomorrow and tomorrow is exactly five months since we got together. It's time to tell everyone about it!" his boyfriend explained, as he caressed the short hair on his nape.

"Aawww, Mattie, this is even more romantic!" the orange haired guy glanced up, in order to lose his eyes in Matthew's ones, an indefinite color, sometimes hazel, sometimes green and sometimes grey-blue, diving into a limpid blue, as blue as the sky and the sea that surrounded them.

And that gaze brought them to a very deep and ardent kiss with their tongues battling for supremacy.

"If I think that from tomorrow on we will be free to do that everywhere and not anymore just and only here, in our hiding-place…" Dom murmured as he held him closer.

"Yeah. But you must admit that this place has a certain charm. And mostly this ship has. " the other observed and then he stared at the horizon, thoughtful.

"We have been though so much stuff on this ship. You know what, Dommie? Maybe it will be just this ship to take us away when things change, because I have the pleasant feeling that things will change. I can already picture myself as I write a song about that: 'Far away, this ship takes me away from my friends, my enemies, from the memories I have of all them. And then I'll chase the starlight. ' " he went on, more and more absorbed in his thoughts.

"Oh, Matt, it would be fantastic, but you know better than me that it's not that easy… " the other brought him back to reality.

"But it's not right. You, Chris and I are so damn talented!"

"Yeah, but it seems that no one wants to give us a chance, anyway. I mean, c'mon, who the hell are supposed to notice us in this shitty and useless town?"

"It's true, but… "

"Stop thinking about it. If it's destiny something will happen!" Dom claimed as he got up.

"Now it's time to think about us. We have the whole beach at our disposal. You know what it means, don't you?" he added.

This time it was Matt's look the one plenty of expectations.

"It means that we can take a long walk along the seashore, holding hands, then enjoy some healthy running and if we have still time maybe have a swim, too!" Dom went on, totally excited.

"Poor me, I'm already feeling exhausted just thinking about all this stuff!" Matt grumbled.

"What are you complaining about? Just wait until I'll take you camping, you know that it's gonna happen sooner or later!"

"Why did I have to fall in love just with the Grand Mogul of the Junior Woodchucks?" the former brunette rolled his eyes.

"Because, if you behave, I'll give you a very special medal!" the former blonde winked at him, allusive, as he got off the ship with him. "Plus, think about it: you, me and a tent. " he added, giving him a quick but intense kiss.

"Dommeh, I don't know why, but… all of the sudden I feel like camping!" the other smiled, taking him by the hand as he got ready to face all the activities of that morning.

Matt's birthday party had been going on for hours.

Everyone was there: all their friends, Chris, Dom and Matt's moms and also Paul had come back due to that special day, after he had moved to London a year before.

Matt and Dom were chatting serenely, but someone interrupted them.

"So, little doves, are you ready to spread your wings wide in public?" a voice exclaimed behind their shoulder.

It was Chris, a tall and robust boy, but in spite of his overshadowing figure ha had a heart of gold.

Chris was the only one who knew about Dom and Matt's relationship, and he had been happy of it since the beginning.

When he had moved to Teignmouth with his family, Chris was the first person Matt had met, since they were in the same classroom. Dominic was a year older than them. So, the two guys had made friends in a heartbeat, having lots of things in common. And it was just Chris who had introduced Matt to his friend Dom. Chat after chat they had found out that they all shared the same passion for music.

And then Chris had let Matt know about the band Dom and he had and about the fact that they needed a guitarist.

After seeing Matt sing and perform, playing both the guitar and the piano, and after recognizing his skills, even if he had been the frontman of the band so far, Chris had given way to him, very willingly, holding the positions of backing vocalist and bassist.

Instead, Dominic was the drummer.

It had been almost nine years since they had started playing together for the first time, and they all had never stopped believing in their passion and trying hard. It's easy to figure out all their progresses since the very first days of rehearsal and mostly it's easy to figure out how inseparable they all had begun.

They still had to find the proper name for their band, since they kept changing names, but it didn't seem so important to them right then.

"Didn't you have something better to say? " Dominic taunted him.

"Phew! I had tried to say it at home, in front of a mirror… and it sounded fun!" Chris justified.

"If you want, we can pretend you didn't say anything and you can try with another witty remark!" Matthew suggested.

"No thanks, also because time is running out. Look, Cinderella-boy, it's almost midnight!" Chris warned him, pointing at his clock.

"Uh! You're right!" the other nodded as he walked towards the middle of the living room in order to make his announcement.

"Give me attention for one moment, please!" he exclaimed as he dabbed a fork against the glass, as if he was at a wedding reception.

"Oh, no, wait. I've changed my mind. Now I'm gonna stop him!" Dom started getting agitated.

"It's too late, you two are already marching out. Plus, I'm sure that everything will be just fine. If there are some stupid people that don't understand you, well, they're not real friends." Chris reassured him as everyone was giving Matt the required attention.

"Do you know when you feel so utterly happy that you want to yell at the whole world the reason of your happiness? Well, I've got that feeling right now and I want to share that with you."

"Matt, aging twenty-years old made you bloody loquacious! Just come to the point!" his brother incited him, chuckling.

"Ok, but be warned, what I'm going to say could shock you. " he warned his crowd as he took a long breath before going on.

"Finally, I've found love. I mean the real love. The half that makes me complete, that makes me happy. And I've realized that just for a few months, although this person had been so close to me for a very longer time!" he went on, glancing at Dom as Chris nodded his approval.

"I guess he's talking about Katrine. I've seen the way she has been looking at him all time long. " Matt's mother turned to her friends as she pointed at the guys' former schoolmate.

"Maybe Janice or Alycia, but surely not Katrine! She just can't take her eyes off * my * son!" Dom's mother corrected her, as she pointed at the other two girls.

"Well, at least all those girls don't dare looking at Chris, since his Kelly almost guards him. I like that girl so much! I can already picture them in front of an altar!" Chris' mother smiled.

"And this person is… " Matt announced, pausing on purpose.

He confined himself just to look at Dom and his boyfriend figured out everything.

The former blonde made a breach through the crowd, among the general awe, as he reached his boyfriend.

"It's me. And the feeling is mutual!" he declared, clasping Matt's hand in his.

There were several reactions: someone fell in an awkward silence, someone else clapped their hands at them, maybe to reward their courage, but there were even someone who went away, outraged, the first ones of this category were Katrine, Alycia and Janice.

Just like Chris had said, those weren't real friends.

After all, Matt and Dom didn't care ,since they had a desperate need to know what some very special people for them thought about the situation.

As a matter of fact, they both walked towards their mothers.

"We are sorry." Matthew exclaimed, not knowing what else to say.

"Sorry for what? Just for being the way you are?" Dominic's mom smiled at him.

"Does it mean that… that you accept that?" Dom stuttered, surprised.

"Honey, there's nothing to accept. You are my son and I immensely love you , whatever you choose to do. " she paused, glancing at Matt. "Whomever you choose to love!" she went on as she hugged her son.

"Well, you know, I should suspect something when I caught you using my hair mousse!" she giggled.

"But, mom! I've already explained that to you: it's for my hair-set!" her son justified.

"You know, Matthew, after the last séance I had, I've been told that there would be some big changes , I just didn't think about so big ones!" Matt's mom claimed.

"So?" Matthew wondered as he nervously tugged at his shirt tail.

"So what? You know I adore Dominic, I've always loved him like a son… it means that from now on I'll love him like a potential son-in-law!" she ruffled his blue hair as she smiled at Dom.

"Instead, Matt, I think that from now on I'll can't hang around with you without feeling ashamed!" Paul warned him as he stared at him impassive.

"Oh, no, Paul, what are you saying? Just because. I…Please, don't tell me that… " Matt stuttered in confusion, looking at him shocked and a upset, too. Since when he was a kid, he had always looked for the approval of his elder brother.

Paul burst out laughing.

"You, silly! What do you think? I was talking about your awful hair! What the hell did you smoke to pick up such a terrible color?" he pointed out, as he hugged him, flicking his cheek playfully.

"Nothing has changed for me, either. You two will be always welcome in my house!" Chris' mom commented.

They thanked her with a smile.

"So, my son is gay. What can I say? It seems that it's such a trendy thing nowadays!" Matt's mother added jokingly.

"Well, actually, both of me and Dom are bisexual. " Matthew pointed out.

"That's even better. I read on a magazine that to have a bisexual son is even trendier!" Dom's mother stuck back, making everyone laugh.

"So, it wasn't that hard, was it? You, stubborn guys!" Chris approached them, capturing them both in a collective embrace.

The party went on until the house emptied from all the people, bit by bit.

When also Paul and his mom went to their bedrooms, a smiling and daydreaming Matthew headed towards his room, as he thought about the events of that day.

"It's done!" he thought out loud as he took a look around.

Everywhere he looked at, a pair of wonderful emerald eyes, almost gliding into blue, seemed to stare at him.

Those eyes belonged to the Placebo's frontman, Matthew's favorite band ever. And his pictures, with but mostly without the other two members of the band, covered every inch of that room.

Matthew got closer to the big poster on the back of his door.

"And it's just thanks to you." he whispered as he traced the contour of the visage on that poster.

"My beloved Bri, I always owe something to you!"

TBC

Here's the prologue of a story that I've been thinking of for *years*.

Contrary to 'How did it come to this? ' , the updating of this one will be so veeeeeeeeery slower, since the first one is already complete, I just have to translate the chapters (I'm Italian, sometimes I forgot to say that, lol!), but this one is a WIP and I've written just two chapters so far.

Anyway, I apologize for facing so hurriedly and superficially such a delicate topic as the ' coming out '.

What can I say? God bless open-minded families-friends who make things so much easier to me! ;)

And sorry for their hairstyle but… I absolutely love those hair-colors!

I hope you'll like, but feel free to tell me everything, I mean, really , I need to know what you think of this story, whatever it is. ;)

Well, if this part was just about Muse (ok, not the band, I mean, the guys!), try to guess about whom next part will be!

I hope you won't mind…


	2. I: Change in the air

Thanks to whoever read this!

Warning: There's no Muse in this chapter. So, if you also like Placebo, it's fine; but if you don't I'm afraid you'll find it pretty boring and I apologize for that, but, please, hold on, it's a necessary step for the story…

Summary of the chapter : Brian Molko is way too stressed out due to work and needs a holiday… but he doesn't know it yet.

An airplane. The umpteenth one and practically his second home.  
If someone had asked him how many airplanes he had taken in the last four years, well, Brian Molko wouldn't have been able to give an answer.  
After all, when you're a rockstar, ocean crossings or simply little travels from one town to another one become just routine.

And Brian was the leader of one of the most successful band of the moment. Their three albums had risen up the European charts and beyond; well, at least their first two albums had. The third one had been out for just a few months, but was getting on pretty well.

With only the thought of fulfilling all those frantic promotional activites, their manager Alex was telling them about in every single detail, Brian felt sick.  
In the last three days they had already met the fans in a Music store, held a press conference, been on the set of two photo-sessions and they had even performed a concert, the first one in a long series and it had worn him out.

Those few weeks of break that they had taken after recording the album seemed to have blown by; especially because he had spent those weeks in Sweden, with Stefan.

As a sort of gut reaction, Brian turned towards the 'object' of his thoughts: Stefan, who sat at the opposite side, all engrossed in listening to Alex with the same attitude as students who want to excel in their class.

It was typical of Stefan who, as a matter of fact, excelled in Brian's heart, too.

Feeling his eyes upon him, Stefan turned in Brian's direction, meeting his gaze with a fleeting smile.

They would have liked to do something more, but that wasn't the most proper moment or the proper place.

"Alex, you gotta hurry up with the schedule you're showing to us; those two are already at the 'moony-eyes' phase!" Steve joked from behind them.

"It's not true, I have two eyes and I can aim them at whomever I bloody please!" the petite frontman justified, pretending indifference, before he turned behind just to look daggers at his friend.

Brian detested nosey parkers.

"This is such a lame excuse, Brian, you could do much better!" Alex stated as she temporarily took off her glasses and took a break from her work. After all, she had the unpleasant feeling that no one was listening to her, no one but Stefan, of course.

"Well, if Stefan and I were alone and undisturbed, hell yeah, I could do much better!" Brian struck back, before looking at Stefan.

"Well, people, could you please leave Brian and me alone for at least forty minutes?" the bassist politely asked, since Brian's look had awakened a savage instinct in him.

"No way, guys, don't you even try! You gotta wait for that until we arrive at the hotel. You're not going to turn this airplane in your personal realm of lust!" the woman reprimanded them.

"You had bad luck, love birds, I'm sorry!" teased Steve.

Brian didn't care; after all, he was already happy because both his drummer and his manager approved his romantic relationship with Stefan, which they had prudently kept hidden for a long time.

Brian recalled as if it were yesterday the special after-show of a couple of years before and the adrenalin that night was imbued with, the way Stefan and he kept eyeing each other up, their mutual desire of discovering if there could be something that was beyond friendship and the languid and passionate kiss they exchanged in the Swede's dress room, a kiss that had so pleasantly proved them right.

Since that night they had never stopped believing in what was between them and every day found the pair more and more in love, and the fact that finally they didn't have to hide anymore was just marvellous.

"Guys, I understand that now you're so in love and happy, but you should be careful. I've already found a photo on the web where you are busy kissing each other... in the middle of a gig! And I already know it's not a photomontage!" Alex warned them.

"So? People will think it's an advertising gimmick, something to make the media talk about me... as if they already didn't that enough!" Brian shrugged, not worried at all, which calmed Alex down, too. 

A little bit shyly, a hostess pulled the curtain aside that divided the cockpit from the passengers, and made her entrance as she held a tray with a mug in the middle, and walked towards the singer.

Brian was already glaring at her from afar. He detested interruptions.

The girl advanced cautiously, trembling a little bit, as a few drops of sweat surrounded her forehead. The mug was filled to overflowing and she would have rather die than spill it.

The pathway that seemed endless to the girl finally ended and she victoriously placed the mug on the tray that protruded from the seat in front of Brian.

He observed her better: she was a very young girl, maybe not even twenty years old, and she could hardly stand in front of him, her too slender legs weakening second by second. She kept playing nervously with a lock of her long, bright blond hair, without being able to aim her hazel eyes at his iridescent emeralds.

She's a fan of mine! he thought, slightly amused.

"Yo... your... co... coffee, Mi… Mister Molko!" the girl stuttered, trying her best to show him a smile, but instead grimacing in an embarrassing way.

When the Airline she worked for let her know that she would be his personal hostess, she couldn't believe her luck, but now that she was dealing with her beloved idol for real and the icy way he was looking at her was making her rapidly change her mind about him.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Then he snapped "Too bad that I had asked for that something like *a month ago*!", before grabbing the mug, bringing the edge to his mouth, taking a little sip and putting it back on the tray in a heartbeat, rudely.

"Shit! It's hot as fucking hell!" he roared, glaring at the poor hostess.

"I'm so sorry, Mister Molko! Here, let me care about it immediately!" she apologized, panic-stricken. She took the mug back and disappeared from his sight with an abnormal quickness, still without letting a drop spill. She had some surprising capabilities at the very end.

"Bri, did that seem to you the proper way to treat that poor, dear girl?" Stefan scolded him as he got up in order to sit closer to Brian.

"Incompetents must realize what they are, even from their earliest years!" his boyfriend struck back, annoyed.

"You should know better: coffee is usually hot, unless you don't ask for an iced one!" the bassist patiently pointed out.

"Well, mine was way too hot. I could have screwed my vocal chords up!" the singer melodramatically justified.

"You should pay more attention, then. Since you're not exactly phenomenal with the guitar, you'd better preserve your voice in the best way possible!" the drummer teased him again, earning Brian's umpteenth icy glare.

"Steve please, be good; can't you see that he's not in a good mood today?" the bassist made him notice.

"Why? Does it mean that there are days when he's in a good mood?" the drummer insisted.

Stefan and Brian exchanged an understanding look.

"Believe me, there are!" Stefan assured his friend.

Alex confined herself just to observe them.

In the meantime the hostess came back, holding another tray with another mug that she gave to the frontman of Placebo. If the girl was nervous before, right then she was utterly terrified.

Brian thanked her, took the mug and…

"So, bloody admit it, you're kidding me! Now it's too cold. Here, have a taste of this rubbish, you, nitwit!" he snapped, throwing the cold coffee at her.

The poor girl had a more than reasonable breakdown; she let the tray fall on the floor and ran away, whimpering, as she took a mental note to get rid of all the posters and CDs of that band.

She wished that she had listened to her mother, when she tried to convince her to work with her sister in their family laundry. At least there, she would have never had the awful chance to meet the terrible Mister Molko!

"Gee, Brian, what the hell has got into you? Poor girl, you scared the hell out of her!" Stefan stated as he looked at Brian, puzzled.

"I… I just don't know. I lost my temper and I did what I did!" he justified.

"Okay, you're not in a good mood today, but that doesn't allow you to treat people like shit!" Steve asserted, looking at him disappointedly.

"Guys, I just don't understand why you're so surprised by that..." Alex finally said, since she had kept silent even for too long.

"This is not the only episode of hysteria that happened in the last days. Just think about the way Brian treated the technician at your last concert two days ago, just because a cable wasn't plugged in! Or yesterday at the photo-shoot! He was about to beat the photographer only because he hadn't framed him in the right camera light!" she went on.

"It's not my fault if I'm surrounded by incompetents!" Brian crossed his arms over his chest.

He detested feeling under examination.

"No, Brian, it's not just that. It's something more worrying!" the manager insisted. "Remember the schedule I was telling you about?"

"You mean the schedule you've been boring the shit out of us with since the airplane took off?" asked Steve as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, exactly that one. Fine, forget about it, at least for now!"

"Alex, what the fuck are you blathering about?" Brian snapped.

"Brian, can't you see? Right now you're not in the proper state to face any of this stuff! I was already a little bit suspicious in the last couple of days and had already thought about a solution, but now you've just confirmed my theory. It's evident that you're way too stressed out, dear; you're on the edge of a breakdown!" the woman explained as she approached to him, in order to face him better.

"Am I really on the edge of a breakdown?" the frontman repeated, unsure.

"Yep, just look at you constant mood swings. I mean, sure, you've never been Mr. Easy-Going, but now it's getting to be too much!" she kept her pleading.

"Honey, you are a little bit stressed-out." Stefan admitted as he held Brian's hand in his and stared at him with pure concern in his dark eyes.

"Maybe you're right!" Brian said as he began facing the facts.

"So, what are we supposed to do now? Screw everything up and go back home?" Steve wondered.

"Yes and no…" Alex replied. "I mean, all the schedule for now is delayed, I'll warn all the media about it. But about the going back home part, no; our dear Brian needs a holiday… and I've found the perfect place for him, an oasis of peace and quiet. That's where we are going now. We'll stay there for several days and see if you like it or not, Brian. You need some tranquillity in order to relax, and then you'll be able to come back to work, utterly reinvigorated!"

"Sounds good. Just tell me, which is the place that is supposed to work this magic on me?" he asked curiously.

"We're going to Devon. More specifically to Teignmouth." she informed him.

"I've never heard about that town." Brian shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll adore it!" she smiled at him.

"We'll see. Anyway, Alex, if you really wanna help me, you have to give me a gig. I mean, delay all the stuff you need to delay, but at least set a gig for us." the singer urged her.

"Why not? Forget London, it's way too chaotic for you and you wouldn't be able to bear such a stress, but… you could play in Teignmouth, it would be just perfect. If my guys wants Teignmouth then they're gonna get it. Just give me two weeks and I'll have you perform there!" she assured her band, drawing out her trustworthy mobile.

"So, would you really manage to delay our agenda and set up a concert from nothing… in just two weeks?" Stefan repeated, astonished as the other two band mates.

"I'm your manager, am not I?" she winked at them.

"You're the best one ever!" Brian smiled at her.

"Alright. Now, let me do my job, it's gonna take me a while." she warned them, before isolating in a corner.

"That's cool. After all, a holiday can't do any harm to us, can it?" Brian said, turning to the other two. The idea of a holiday excited him a lot.

Alex wasn't wrong. Brian adored that little, lost town from the first moment he saw it.

The quietness and the peace of that place were indescribable to him.

Since it was summer there were also tourists, but they weren't anything too unbearable, and things would improve once the high season was over.

After just a couple of days, which he spent in the most discreet way ever, Brian had already taken an important decision. Stefan was the first one he had told about it, mostly because he was part of that decision.

"Oh, Stef, I love this place so much, but I can't stand staying two more weeks in a hotel. So, I was thinking... what about buying a house here? You know, as our special shelter whenever we feel the need to take a break from the chaotic and frantic life we lead, just like now." he had suggested him as they walked down an isolated alley.

Stef had welcomed his idea with a very enthusiastic kiss.

"Alright. Now we just have to find a real estate agency!" Brian rejoiced, his determination rare to see.

BLOCKQUOTE

**Chapter End Notes:**

Just let me strike a blow for 'this' Brian: I guess he could have been even eviler, at least he hadn't thrown the hot coffee at the girl!

Well, you know, it's just that the idea of a very stressed Brian amuses me… especially if I think *whom* he will have to deal with! ;)

By the way, did I mention that in this story Chris's mom happens to work in… a real estate agency?

Uh! I didn't tell you anything! ;P

Hope you'll still like it and didn't find this chapter boring…since there were no Muse… but they will be back in next chapter (where the story will start for real), with the Placebo's concert and much more stuff… stay tuned! :)

P.S: The title of this chapter is taken from 'Ruled by Secrecy' lyrics, by Muse.


	3. IIA: You'll take only seconds to

Hello, thanks sooooooooo much to whoever put this story in the 'favourite ' , it means a lot to me!

Summary of the chapter (A): Matt and Dom enjoy their first time together.

Chapter II (A): You'll take only seconds to draw me in

"Guess what?" Matt whispered as he shook Dom's shoulder, not very gently.

Dom startled, waking up abruptly, staring at him in confusion, since Matt sat on his bed but he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Are you a dream? No, you sound too annoyingly real to be a dream!" he mumbled and then glanced at the alarm clock. "Gee! It's 5:30 a.m.! What the fuck are you doing here and how the fucking hell did you get in?" Dominic snapped.

Very quietly, scarily quietly, Matt just pointed at the open window, the windowsill and the tree beside it, although the room was on second floor.

"You know, after all the sport I've been doing with you, I've become a good climber, too!" he explained. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question yet: guess what?" he insisted.

"Fucking what?" Dom snapped.

"Placebo are gonna play here on June 24th, two Saturdays from today!" he informed him, all excited, almost jumping on the bed.

"Here in my room?" the former blond wondered dumbfounded.

After all, he wasn't fully awake yet.

"No, you ninny, I mean here in Teignmouth, at the Den!" Matt chuckled. "I've found out tonight and I've already bought the tickets on line. I still can't believe it, I'M GONNA SEE BRRRRIIIIIIAAAAAAAN!" the former brunette exulted, the volume of his voice increasing.

"Keep quiet! You'll end up waking my family up!" Dom summoned him, tapping his mouth with his hand until Matt showed him that he had calmed down.

"Ok, Placebo are gonna play at the Den. It doesn't explain why the fuck you are here at * _5:30 in the morning_*!" Dom pointed out, kinda rudely.

"Well, you know, after such a discovery I just couldn't sleep and I wanted to make sure you had nothing planned for this day." Matt justified.

"So, couldn't you just ask me at a more pleasant time of the day?" Dom snorted.

"I just couldn't wait." the other whimpered.

"On June 24th, you said, didn't you? Well, I'm gonna date Miranda that day, so I can't!" he warned him.

"What? Listen, I also had to go out with Peggy on that day, but I'm gonna postpone or anticipate our date. And you'll do the same with Miranda. On that day Chris and you are booked by me. Period!" the blue-haired guy established resolutely.

"Ok, I'll be at your whole disposal. Can you let me sleep now?" the orange-haired guy wondered lazily, but Matt didn't seem to like that eventuality.

"Honey, see this situation from another perspective: I'm here. Now. We should take advantage of that, shouldn't we?" he raised his eyebrow, before bending over him for a sweet, but intense kiss.

"Mm… Matt, you know, I want you so bad. But here, now…"

"I know. Your family is here, just like at my family's in my house and now that even Grandma is back, it's even worse because she is always around; but did you realize that it's more than half a week since we've come out and we haven't had our special moment yet?" Matt made him notice. "By the way, are you naked under there?" he added, as he pulled the sheets from him, revealing his black boxers and grey t-shirt.

"No. Bad luck!" he answered to his own question, as Dom confined himself just to look at him.

"You know, you should sleep naked, you have such a wonderful, flawless and sculpted body." the former brunette stated as he laid down on the bed, beside him.

"No way, it's too bloody cold to sleep naked!" the orange-haired guy pointed out, as he tried to get the sheets back.

"Said the one who always sleeps with his window open, even in winter!" the blue-haired guy pointed out wittily. "Anyway, what's the problem? I can warm you." he smirked as he crawled upon his boyfriend and held him tight.

"Mm…" Dom purred, closing his eyes in order to enjoy the feeling better. "I could lie like this forever!"

"But I can't, I want some action! I want you" his partner growled.

"I want you, too, desperately. But we'll end up waking someone up if we…"

"I know. And we can't find a motel room, it's so squalid; I want our first time to be special." Matt explained. "And I know the perfect place for the perfect first time!" he added, looking at him suggestively.

"You have a plan, haven't you?" Dom grinned.

"Just dress up and follow me. You trust me, don't you?" Matthew caressed his face.

"Always." he murmured, holding his hand, before getting ready to go out.

About half an hour later they arrived at their beloved beach. Matt took Dom by the hand and led him towards the ship that was moored near the seashore.

There were some covers and pillows inside and everything had been set up as it was a sort of bed.

"Oh, Mattie, this is just … wow!" Dom beamed at him, almost speechless.

"I knew you would like it as I knew you would follow me." Matt returned the smile, before dragging him to himself for a deep kiss.

The orange-haired guy played with Matt's spiky hair as the other hand explored his chest under his dark yellow t-shirt.

In the same time, the blue-haired guy had cupped Dom's butt with both of his hands, touching it through the fabric of his brown trousers.

"Wait!" Matt panted against his mouth.

"Why?" Dom whined, unwilling to stop.

"Just because we're gonna get more comfortable inside." Matt explained, parting from Dom and helping him to get on the boat. He then followed his boyfriend. Then they laid down under the covers, resting their heads on the soft pillows.

"Matthew. This is so perfect…" the former blond murmured, leaning out to observe in awe the waves playing in the sea as the dark sky was turning brighter progressively, due to the upcoming dawn.

"We have at least more than one hour before people start arriving. I guess that's enough time to do lots of interesting stuff." Matt stated, before kissing Dom once again, good and proper.

Just when he felt him relax under his touch, Matt began opening his purple shirt up, button after button, as he covered every inch of that bared skin with kisses, licks and tiny bites, until he reached the end and got rid of that item of clothing.

Dom switched their positions and removed Matt's shirt, nibbling at his left nipple as his fingers toyed with the right one.

"God! It feels so good." Matt purred under his ministrations.

"Yeah... it does." Dom answered back as he slowed down the rhythm and laid his head on his chest, closing his eyes.

After a while, Matt couldn't feel him move anymore.

"Dommie?" he tentatively called him out.

Nothing.

"Dom?" he tried again, this time shaking him lightly.

Still nothing.

"Dominic! It's our first time, for God's sake! You can't bloody sleep!" he yelled, shaking him harder and rolling on top of him.

With some considerable efforts, Dom popped his eyes open again.

"I know. Sorry, baby, but… it's your fault: you can't wake people at a very improbable time of the night and expect that they're fully active!" he protested. "Plus, you're such a comfy pillow, honey!" he softly added, making his boyfriend smile.

"So, where is my restless Grand Mogul?" Matthew taunted him.

"You fucked my biorhythm up, so there's no Grand Mogul now!" the former blond struck back.

"Uhmm… so I guess I'll have to wake you up pwoperly…" the former brunette sneered with a devilish look, before disappearing under the covers.

Dom felt Matt lower the zipper of his trousers and pull them down with his boxers; and then his hips started to buck against Matt's arousing mouth.

"Oh, Jesus! Oh, God! Oh, Maaaaaaatt!" Dom cried in ecstasy, as Matt finished his 'job' until the last drop.

"So, are you awake now?" he rhetorically wondered, emerging from the covers.

"Come here!" Dom growled, pulling him to his chest and capturing his lips in a hot, thankful kiss.

And then it was Dominic turn to disappear under the covers and pay him back, driving Matthew crazy.

They kissed again for another long time, hands wandering everywhere. They were almost naked, only wearing their boxers.

Dom was about to get rid of Matt's undergarment, but his boyfriend stopped him.

"What?" he wondered puzzled, dreading that he had already changed his mind.

Matt seemed to read that fear in Dom's eyes and smiled sweetly at him.

"It's just that before we begin to … you know, do the new stuff… there's something I wanna show you." he explained as he grabbed his black jeans and searched for something in the pockets, until he drew out a folded sheet.

"You know, we both already had sex with girls, but now it's our first time boy/boy…" Matthew babbled awkwardly.

"For me it will also be the first time I'm gonna have sex with someone I really love!" Dominic declared.

"Aawww! It's the same for me, my love!" Matt melted down as he peppered Dom's face with kisses. "The point is that it's our first time. It's important, I've been spending tons of days picturing this moment. And I… also wrote about it…" he went on, giving Dom the folded sheet.

"Really?" the other opened it, eager to see it.

"Yeah, but it's still a work in progress, there's still a lot of work to do…" Matthew babbled, as he stared at the bottom of the boat, almost repenting of giving him that sheet.

Dominic felt into a deep silence all engrossed in reading.

"Oh, Matteh, it's beautiful!" he beamed at the end.

"It's about you, it can't help being beautiful!" the other smiled at him.

"I wanna hear it!" Dom asked.

"Sure, this afternoon we have the rehearsal with Chris, so…"

"No. I mean now." Dom insisted.

"Now? But I don't even have a guitar here!" Matt protested.

"It doesn't matter. Your voice is the most perfect instrument ever. Please, luv, sing for me." the other pleaded him.

Matt snuggled closer to him, under the covers, fixed his blue eyes in his stormy grey-green eyes and started to sing.

"Passing by, you light up my darkest skies / You'll take only seconds to draw me in. So be miiiiiine and your innocence I will consume…" he smiled at his lover, before crawling upon him, moving like a cat.

He took a deep breath, ready to go on with the chorus

"Darkshines/Bringing me doooown/ Making my heart feel sore/ 'Cause it's gooooood/ Your darkshines/ Bringing me dooooown/ Making my heart feel sore/ 'Cause it's gooooood…" he yelled and then he looked at Dom.

"I've just written this so far, I know it's not very much, but…"

Matthew couldn't speak anymore, because Dominic had shut him up with a very demanding kiss.

"Oh, my. It's amazing, Matt, there's nothing to change." he eventually murmured, visibly touched.

"Uh. Maybe I'll add some more lines." the other reckoned. "So, now, my dear Dark Shine, are you ready to bring me down the abyss of passion?" he wondered immediately, while playing with the waistband of Dom's boxers.

"Sure! Just a question. Who goes first?" the former blond asked him.

"Since you are the sleepy one I guess I'll play the active role first. Plus, I wrote this song, I deserve it!" Matt pointed out.

"Hey! That's unfair! First, I'm not that sleepy anymore, and second, I can't write songs, so…" the other started protesting, but he immediately stopped as Matt began working his way on him. "Oh, fuuuuuuuuuuck! Ok, not complaining anymoooooooooooore!" he groaned.

So they made love, switching roles and positions, preparing each other for that mutual bittersweet intrusion, with a background made of kisses, exploring tongues, caresses and sweet talks.

Once they were done and utterly pleased, the sky above them had turned bright and the sun had lazily started to rise. They watched that amazing show together, tenderly hugging under the covers.

"Matthew, everything is so incredibly perfect. I'll never forget this morning. I love you!" Dom whispered as he stared at the sky reflection in the sea.

"And I love you!" Matt murmured, kissing his shoulder, before getting up. "But we'd better go now, if someone sees us, next time we make love will be in jail" he added, as they both dressed up and collected their stuff, before leaving.

(end part A)

Hope you'll like it, feel free to tell me whatever you want, but pleeeease tell me something.

thanks anyway for reading this.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


	4. IIB: You'll take only seconds to

Summary of the chapter (B): The fateful day has come, it's Placebo's concert!

Chapter II (B): You'll take only seconds to draw me in

"Believe me, Chris, you will *like* this band!" Dom assured his friend.

"Well, I accepted to come with you just because you paid for my ticket!" Chris pointed out as he took a look around the crowd, trying to figure out what the band's target was, but it wasn't easy to figure it out , since it went from teens to middle aged people and there were even some older people, too.

That was Matt, Dom and Chris' first Placebo's concert.

Matt had been listening to them since their early beginnings, so he knew every single song of theirs. Plus, of course, he had a huge crush over Brian, the frontman. Matt had also persuaded Dom to listen to their music in the last two years and Dom ended up liking them pretty much, but it was nothing compared to Matthew's worship towards that band.

Chris hadn't heard any song of theirs yet, no matter all of Matt's attempts to make him listen to them.

"C'mon, Chris, you just have to know their music, also because I want to cover their songs when we play!" Matt warned him. "The drummer and especially the bassist are great, but the singer... oh, god. The singer is something I can't even describe. He has such hypnotic eyes, such a hypnotic way to move, to play the guitar and sometimes also the piano and he has such a hypnotic voice, no matter if he sings or just talks…" he informed him, already daydreaming about the upcoming concert.

"Well, Matt, did you bring me to see a singer or a snake charmer?" Chris joked, making Dom laugh.

"Ah-ah, very funny." Matthew snorted, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Just wait and you'll see!" he added, a wide smile coming back on his features.

After all, nothing, really nothing, could piss him off on that very special day.

"Whatever. I'm more and more convinced that you brought me here just because I'm strong enough to drag you in the first row… just like I did!" Chris stated.

"Gee, how can you think such a bad thing of us? We wanted you here with us, because this is a special moment and we want to share it with you!" Dom justified. "But thank you for dragging us to the first row!" he added immediately after, smiling warmly at his friend. "After all, Matthew wanted to come here at sunrise!" he informed Chris as he pointed at his boyfriend.

"I've been waiting for ages for this moment to come, so I wanted everything to be perfect and now I know that it is. Thank you, Chris!" Matt grinned at his friend, before he turned to see the crowded beach behind them: there were tons of people screaming, laughing, singing Placebo songs out loud or just patiently waiting.

By then, it was just a matter of one hour, maybe even less.

****************************** (In the meantime)

"So, Brian, are you really sure that you can face it?" Alex asked for confirmation.

"Hell yeah I am, I've been doing nothing but wait for this day to come. I miss the gigs so bad." Brian assured her as he played absently one of his beloved guitars.

"Hey! Have you taken a look outside? There're plenty of people everywhere, this is gonna be such a great show!" Steve rejoiced.

"Well, I'm not so surprised. I said that this would be your last concert before you, Brian, take some time just to yourself because you need it!" Alex commented.

"I still can't believe that you managed to set all that up in such a few time!" Brian stated as he looked at their manager in awe.

"Well, it surely wasn't a piece of cake, quite the contrary! Anyway, I told everyone that you would recover in two months, because you're gonna recover in two months, aren't you? Please, tell me that you will!" she wondered, getting very concerned.

"Sure! Maybe even sooner than you think. You know, you were right, the discreetness of this place is helping me a lot. I had no hysteric attaches anymore. C'mon, Steffy, tell them I'm behaving myself." the singer urged his boyfriend.

"Well, Bri, I don't think you have been exactly nice with that poor postman, a couple of days ago…" Stefan commented.

"Well, he was violating our privacy, honey!" the frontman justified.

"He was just trying to give you a recorded delivery! That's the kind of things that happens when you get a new address!" the bassist pointed out.

"I don't give a fuck. He wasn't doing that in the proper way, so I had to defend my territory!" Brian insisted.

"But it wasn't a good reason for making him run away for his life when you chased him around holding a baseball bat!" Stefan yelled at him, losing his patience. "Where the hell did you find it, by the way?" he asked him immediately after.

"Last week I went around the town centre and decided to buy some useful tools, such as the baseball bat. And before you get all worried about that, don't fear, nobody saw me. I can be really discreet when I want!" he explained quietly.

"Gee, Brian, you're not recovering at all!" Alex got despaired as she put her hands in her short, blond hair.

"Trust me, you don't wanna hear about what happened with the two little girl-scouts who wanted to sell chocolate to us…" Stefan warned her, as he rolled his eyes at the memory.

"Stef! Don't bother Alex and Steve with this story! Anyway, it's nothing that those damned scout-girls can't fix with a few months of therapy!" the singer cut him off, waving his hand annoyed, as if what he was saying wasn't that important.

"Shit, Molks! What if you went on stage and went all crazy out of the blue, taking a mitre and terrorizing everywhere like that guy in the 'Falling Down' movie? We'd better cancel this show!" Steve made of him.

"Are you fucking done, you, Mr. Humour? Alex, please, don't listen to him, he just watches way too bloody much TV!" Brian defended himself.

"Well, Bri, I'm not so sure about that anymore… it seems that not only you're not recovering, but you're getting even worse!" Alex stated, more and more concerned.

"But those were just sporadic episodes! Believe me, I'm fine and in a fucking good mood, there are fucking birds tweeting cheerfully in my head and I just wanna go out there and play the best fucking show of our lives!" Brian made his point and was very persuasive.

"Well, Bri, I love it when you are so resolute!" Stef smiled at him as he snuggled closer to him.

"Kiss me, then!" Brian summoned his boyfriend with the same resoluteness that turned him on so much.

As Stef obliged him, Alex and Steve immediately started looking everywhere but at the twosome.

After all, deep inside, at the very end, they were getting accustomed to that.

"Okay, now I'm really in the mood to jam!" Brian declared with a satisfied smirk, as he parted from Stefan.

The supporter band had already finished their show for more than half an hour.

It had been nothing impressing, for the record.

"We would do such a better job than those bloody four greenhorns!" Chris snapped kind of disappointed.

"Yeah, I think so, too. Well, guys, maybe one fine day *we* will be on that stage, people will wait for *our* show, calling *our* names out and singing *our* songs!" Dom replied with daydreaming eyes.

"Ok, guys, it's almost time! The technicians are bringing their instruments on stage!" Matthew warned them overexcited as he fixed the band strip that he had bought at the Placebo's official merchandising better around his forehead.

Matthew was right. After a bunch of minutes the lights turned off, the crowd screamed madly, there was smoke coming from the stage and then Placebo made their impressing entrance.

"Oh my, it's him!" Matthew yelled, pointing at Brian, which was even more beautiful than in videos.

He was utterly dressed in black, from his shoes to his jacket. Even his guitar was black.

He waved his hand and greeted the crowd with a very sexy half smile, before starting 'Pure Morning'.

Matt closed his eyes, in order to concentrate on it better; Dom sang it along for the whole time. That was one of his favourite Placebo's songs and although he was perfectly aware that he wasn't a good singer at all, he didn't care; after all, in such a noisy crowd he couldn't do any damage!

Also Chris found himself liking both their song and their sound as he kept moving his head, following the rhythm.

Once the song was over, Matt opened his eyes again, as Placebo was about to start 'Coming Home'.

"Dom, I love you and everything, but tonight I could not be responsible of my actions!" the former brunette warned him.

"Don't worry, I understand you; after all, I've found a *very interesting* distraction, too!" the former blond replied, without even looking at him.

Matt found his gaze and saw Stefan as he was playing. He wore silver jeans and a totally unbuttoned shirt that revealed his smooth and well toned chest and Dom seemed unable to take his eyes off him.

"Do you mean Stefan?" Matt figured out, bursting out laughing.

"Yep. The very few pics you have of him in your room don't do any justice to him, he's so fucking hot!" Dom gasped.

"Too bad that they're in the middle of the stage and we are on the right side!" Matt snorted, before exchanging an understanding gaze with his boyfriend.

After all it had always taken just a look for them to read each other like open books.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Dom asked him and he nodded.

Chris was too engrossed in listening to that music to notice them move away.

Very laboriously, the two lovers managed to slide towards the middle of the first row, until they ended up right in front of Brian and Stefan, as they were playing 'Slave to the wage', their newest hit.

Dom started to stare intently at Stefan, until the bassist lifted his head and noticed him, his oddly dyed hair, but mostly what he was doing, since that very gorgeous, orange-haired guy was licking his upper lip, slowly, and it was something extremely sensual, especially with those mesmerizing eyes of an indefinite colour fixed on the bassist, added to the tremendous, almost irritating, self-confidence he seemed to be full of.

Stefan almost made a mistake with the chords, but he recovered just in time and then he stopped looking at him, but Dom had noticed that detail and was very pleased.

-Well, well, it seems that I didn't lose my touch!- he congratulated himself.

Brian hadn't even seen the whole scene, since he was busy looking at another direction, before getting ready to sing the final chorus. As he took a look around the first row he almost jolted when he met the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

TBC

Disclaimer: sama as part A for the title!

Hope you'll still like it, I promise that things will get kinda interesting in next chapter… at least I wish!


	5. III:It's in your reach Concentrate

Disclaimer: the title is taken from 'New Born' lyrics, by Muse.

Summary of the chapter: Matthew deals with the consequences of what happened.

Chapter III: Link it to the world, link it to yourself, stretch it like it's a birth squeeze.

Laboriously, Matthew opens his eyes, taking a look around and realising he's all alone.

It takes him a while to recall where he is, as his head is spinning like hell.

"_Why am I still here? Did I fall asleep? All I remember is that I followed that girl, Rachel, here and she introduced me to her boyfriend and… gee, I don't remember what the fuck happened_!" he thinks, confused, massaging his temples with one hand, before realizing that his other hand is holding something: a folded sheet of paper.

He sits on the bed and opens the sheet, reading it.

'Matthew, I know that now you will be all scared, puzzled, with a thousands questions in your head,'

"Damn right!" he says out loud, as he keeps reading.

'Well, all your questions will be answered if you come to us tonight, at the same place, but come before midnight, it's very important, ten minutes to midnight would be just perfect. Please, Matt, come to us, it's essential. At the very end, I know you will, because you need it,' he goes on reading.

His rationality is suggesting him to ignore the message and keep himself as far away as he can from that creepy couple, but his instinct, the most primeval part of him, is telling him that he can trust them completely, and Matt has always followed his instinct.

'Just another thing, Matt, the main one: don't you dare take off the pendant we gave you, for no reason ever!' he reads, stopping to get up and walking towards the mirror upon the desk, in order to examine himself better.

Around his neck there's a rubber necklace with a pendant. Matthew analyses it.

It's an oriental symbol; he has probably seen tons of merchandise with that symbol on during their tour in China. It's the Yin and Yang symbol, half black, half white, circle shaped.

He touches it, to feel the material; it seems to be plastic, but it's not. It must be something ancient, rare, mystic.

"_Well, they said they had a gift for me, an antique, precious gift, maybe that's what they talked about. After all it's nice, I'm going to keep it," _he thinks, as some, confusing, blurred, vague memories of last night painstakingly pop in his mind.

"_I attempted to escape, but they locked the door and shoved me on the bed… and then?"_ he wonders, grabbing the sheet to get more information.

'I guess that's all, for now. I really hope to see you tonight; you can't even begin to imagine how important it is, Matthew. Take care. Rachel. P.S. Michael says you taste very good.' he finishes reading.

The last sentence makes him panic-stricken.

"_What the fuck does it mean? They said there wouldn't be anything sexual, especially with Michael! What the bloody, fucking, sodding hell happened last night?" _he asks himself, as he tears the sheet to pieces, so frustrated that he gives out a growl… but it's a feral, animal growl… a sound that can not be considered human.

"_Holy shit! Was that me, for real? Nah, it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, I'm stressed, it's only that,"_ Matt persuades himself, scared, adding the umpteenth question to his already long, mental list.

"_Hell yeah, I'm coming back here tonight. Those two freaks must explain every-bloody-thing to me!"_ he decides.

Right now he doesn't have time for more questions, he has just got to go. After all, it's 10:00 a.m. and his mobile has been switched off since the beginning of the show, so everyone will be searching for him.

Matt decides that the first wise thing to do is to switch on his mobile and let the others know that he's fine. For some strange reason, he chooses to call just Dominic.

"Matthew, is it you? Where are you? Are you OK? Are you alone?" a very agitated and apprehensive Dom gives Matt the third degree, answering immediately at the first ring.

"Yes, it's me, yes, I'm alone and yes, I'm OK," Matthew replies.

"_More or less,"_ he adds mentally.

"Don't worry, it's just that I lost track of time. As soon as I figure out where the hell I am now, I'm going to call a cab and come back to the hotel," the brunet calms the blond down.

"Alright. I know it's true that we have a whole free day here, because we're leaving tomorrow, but it's not a good reason to disappear the way you did!" the drummer reproaches his best friend.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll be back in a while. See you later. Cheers." Matt hangs up as he checks the pockets in his black jacket, his blue shirt and his black jeans.

"_OK, at least they are not robbers, since there's nothing missing," _he thinks, before leaving the dismal house.

If only he checked things a little more carefully, he would find out that actually there _is_ something missing: his heartbeat.

"Matthew! I was so damn worried about you!" Dom exclaims as he runs into Matt, hugging him tight, as soon as the singer sets foot in the hall of the hotel about twenty minutes later.

Matt enjoys that sensation, hugging Dom back, as he inhales the fragrance of his Christian Dior shampoo, rosemary, cypress and musk, and the aroma of his skin, white musk with notes of amber.

Matthew has never paid so much attention to Dom's scent, but mostly he has never smelled anything so well and so intensely, as if his sense of smell had been amplified somehow.

Beside, there's another scent, stronger than everything, that is trickling into Matt's nostrils and making him feel dizzy and dazed, but he can't figure out what it is.

"Gee, Matt, you're so cold!" Dom observes, parting from him, in concern. "What's wrong? Have you spent the whole night outside, wandering through the streets?" he asks the brunet.

"_I guess it would have been safer if I had,"_ Matt ponders.

"More or less, truth is that I spent the night in a house that wasn't very warm or cosy," he justifies.

"And you're so pale. Well, why am I so surprised? You're always pale," Dominic goes on. "Alright, Matt, now do me a favour: go to your room and have a long, warm bath. You'll feel better after that," he goes on. "When you're done, come to Chris' room where me and the guys will be, we have to discuss some issues for the show in Seattle," he informs his best friend.

Still a little puzzled, Matt registers all the information in his brain, nods and goes to his room, following Dom's advice.

About half an hour later, in a better mood, Matt reaches his friends to Chris' room.

"Well, Bells, you should have seen Dom yesterday, when you left with that girl, he was all calm and sure that everything was fine; but this morning, when he realised you hadn't come back yet, he was hyper-agitated!" Chris explains, chuckling.

"By the way, did you have fun with that beautiful girl?" Tom asks the guitarist.

"Well, I can say that it was a very interesting encounter. Impressive," Matt replies, telling nothing but the truth.

Hidden from everyone, Dom snorts, annoyed at that revelation, but Matthew notices it.

"_Here we go. I'm sure that he's envying me now, because he wanted her to choose him, instead," _the singer jumps to the umpteenth wrong conclusion for the umpteenth time.

"OK, guys, now let's get down to business." Tom incites everyone.

All of the sudden, Matt starts to cover his ears with his hands, bothered by something.

"I think we should open with 'Resistance' this time," Dominic suggests.

Chris and Tom nods as Matt keeps his ears covered, shaking his head.

"Don't you agree, Matt?" Dom asks his best friend, a little upset.

"No, it's not that, quite the contrary, I think it's a great idea to start with that song," Matt replies. "It's just that I can't concentrate with all this terrible noise!" he goes on, pressing harder on his ears.

"Noise?" Chris asks Matt, in disbelief.

"Yeah, c'mon, don't you hear the bloody hoover in the corridor? It's so annoying!" the frontman complains.

"Matthew, there's no hoover in the corridor," Dominic makes the brunet notice, very worried.

"Oh, c'mon, don't be silly. Are you all deaf or what? There's a bloody cleaning lady, using the bloody hoover as she's humming a bloody song!" Matt snaps.

"Wait. Let me check something," Tom announces, leaving.

Ten minutes after, Matt stops covering his ears, relieved, and after a while Tom comes back.

"I asked about it at the reception. You were right, Matt, actually there was a cleaning lady using a hoover on the corridor," Tom informs him. "Too bad that she was on the _first floor_ and we are on the_ eight floor!_" he adds, stunned, just like the others.

"You are joking. It was like she was right behind the door!" Matt protests, frightened.

"Believe me, Matt, it was just the first floor. However, I asked her to stop," Tom answers back.

"Well, after all, you shouldn't be so surprised, I'm a musician, I must have very keen hearing!" Matt justifies.

"Well, Matt, we are musicians as well, but we heard nothing," Chris makes his friend notice, as he points to himself and Dom.

"Well, I'm a musician more than you are," the pianist shrugs. "Anyway, we were discussing the new setlist, weren't we?" he reminds to the others.

"Right," Chris approves, as he gets up and walks to the desk at the opposite side of the room, starting to skim through the pile of sheets of music on the table.

Matt observes him, astonished because, despite the distance, he manages to recognise every single song, catching a glimpse of them, almost as if he had zoomed in with his eyes.

"By the way, I was thinking about a different bass riff to replace the riff at the beginning of 'Knights of Cydonia', just let me find the song," Chris informs his listeners, scattering al the sheets.

"It's the third to last, on the left," Matt states.

Chris follows his friend's instructions and draws out the right sheet of music.

"How the hell did you manage to do that?" Dom asks Matt, dumbfounded.

"It was just a guess; I vaguely remembered where I put it," the frontman lies, without letting anyone notice how scared he is by that.

"See? I always say that he's a damn lucky bloke!" Tom laughs, patting Matt's shoulder.

"Yeah, as I was saying, I made some notes with the pencil at the bottom of the page," Chris explains, but as he grabs the sheet, in order to show it to the others, he's clumsy and ends up cutting his finger with a corner.

"Ouch! Gee, it's nothing serious, thanks God, but it hurts like Hell!" Chris hisses, as he presses the wounded finger and makes blood trickle down from the cut.

Matthew's eyes focus on the cut, as he feels dizzy and dazed once again, but it's stronger than before, and without even realising that, something in his mind is triggered.

Less than half second later, disgusted as he wonders how the hell the singer managed to approach him so quickly, Chris finds Matthew on his knees, with his lips and tongue wrapped around the bassist's wounded finger, as the brunet sucks it like a baby from a feeder, holding it with both hands.

Everyone, Chris above all, stares at Matthew in awe and deep silence.

Dominic felt something else, beyond astonishment.

"_Gee, Chris is always so lucky! I should have cut __**my **__finger, so right now Matthew would be sucking __**my**__ finger, it would be such a nice sensation, and if it feels so good just around the finger, I wonder how it would feel around my… " _Dom ponders, but he bans his own thoughts, before they reach an 18 rating.

In the meantime, Matt finally works out what he's doing and stops abruptly, getting up and rushing towards the bathroom.

Once he's there, he locks the door and spits the little blood he sucked into the sink, staring at it in confusion, almost regretting spitting it out.

He looks at it one last time, before letting the water wash it away.

He looks at his reflection in the mirror, noticing that he's indeed very pale, even for his own standards.

"_What the fucking hell is wrong with me? And why did the blood taste so… good? " _he wonders as he passes a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"Hey, Matt, are you OK?" Dom wonders from the other side of the door, knocking.

"_No, I'm not okay, I'm not fucking okay," _the guitarist reckons, before sighing and opening the door.

"Yes, Dominic, I'm fine, I'm just tired, I guess," he replies, before walking towards Chris who is still staring at him in a mix of shock and disgust.

"Sorry for before, mate, I don't know what the hell possessed me… probably it's because Mum used to do that when I was a kid, every time I cut or bruised myself," Matt justifies.

"Well, fresh news, Matt, you're _not _my mum and I'm _not _a kid. Don't you ever dare to do such a thing!" Chris grumbles.

"I won't," Matt promises, relieved when he sees a plaster on Chris' finger.

"_Good. The less I see blood, the better it is,"_ the singer thinks.

"About tomorrow's show, make all the changes you please, I don't mind, but I guess that now I'll go back to my room. I need some rest. I really do," Matt announces, leaving.

Matthew didn't lie; he really did need some rest, a lot.

It's almost as if hadn't slept for ages.

It's Dom who wakes him up with a text message, which makes Matt's mobile vibrate in his pocket.

He stirs, pops his eyes open and reads the message.

'Matt, it's 10:00 p.m. Did you get enough rest? Hope to see ya with us for dinner. Dom.'

"_Gee, have I really been sleeping for so long? It's just that I felt so bloody tired," _he thinks, before getting up and getting ready to see his friends.

During the dinner, Matt barely touches food, but at least he chats kind of animatedly with everyone, besides, everyone seems to have forgotten the odd events of the morning.

But Matt hasn't.

That's why he keeps glancing at his watch and at 11:30 p.m. he gets up from the table, ready to leave.

"Guys, I have to go, now. See you tomorrow," he announces.

"You're going to see that mysterious girl again, aren't you?" Dom asks.

"Yep, but it's not what you think," Matt replies.

"Why? What do you think that I think? If you found a new girlfriend, congratulations, I'm bloody happy for you!" Dominic snaps.

Matt is a little puzzled by his best friend's behaviour, since the blond almost sounds like a jealous fiancée.

"_Nah, he's still envious, just like this morning. Besides, tomorrow we have the show and he doesn't want me to stay up all night long,"_ he tells himself.

"She's not my new girlfriend and she's already engaged, for the record. And yesterday there was nothing sexual, but I've got to meet her and her boyfriend again, it's important, don't ask me why. Besides, I promise I won't be late," Matt informs him, before leaving.

There's no need to say that Dominic is extremely relieved after that news.

"_She's engaged and she didn't have sex with my Matt. I don't give a damn if he wants to meet her again to do God only knows what, she's engaged and not interested in Matt. God bless that girl!" _he smiles to himself, pouring the wine into his glass and toasting with the others.

Now Dom has something to celebrate.

At the abandoned house, Rachel keeps walking back and forth, very nervously.

"Gee, honey, please, calm down!" Michael rolls his eyes as he lies down the bed.

"I can't, it's stronger than me, what if somehow he didn't read the message I left for him?" she wonders.

"He read it, because I found the pieces of the sheet we gave him, it must be him who ripped it, after reading," Michael explains.

"Oh. Well, what if he read it and didn't believe a single word? Maybe he took off the pendant, left the house in the morning and… oh, no, I don't even want to think about it," she says, biting her nails.

"Rachel, think about it: he's the frontman of one of the most famous bands in the world, so if something bad had happened to him, all the media would have already spread the news," Michael makes her notice, very calmly.

"You're right. Well, at least he's fine, but it's 11:52 p.m., it's almost midnight and if he doesn't come here…"

"Well, if he doesn't come, we will go out looking for him and we'll find him before he does something irreparable," Michael suggests. "And we'll also punish him, for misbehaving." he sneers, amused at the idea.

"Gee, you're obsessed with punishments!" Rachel rolls her eyes.

"Well, you like them…" he purrs, inviting her to join him.

She obliges, caressing his face.

"That's a totally different kind of punishment, the kind that just makes me want to misbehave again and again," she smiles, kissing him.

Just when things start to get hotter between them, someone knocks at the door.

"It's Matt!" Rachel rejoices, rushing to open the door.

A little bit unwillingly, since he interrupted important stuff, Michael follows her.

Rachel pulls the door open, realising she's right, because she's face to face with a very pissed off Matthew.

"You. And you!" the Englishman hisses, pointing his index finger at her first, and then at Michael.

"I prefer your scared version than your moody one!" Michael snorts, crossing his arms over his chest as Matt crosses the threshold.

"I'm so glad to see you, Matt!" Rachel smiles at him.

"I'm here just to get my bloody answers, because I don't know what the fuck you did to me, but… something's changed, a lot. So now you must make things right!" the singer snaps, as outside a steeple starts to ring the first bells of midnight.

"I'm sorry but there's no 'Satisfaction or your money back' guarantee, here, which in your case would be 'Satisfaction or your _blood_ back'," Michael chuckles.

"Blood?" Matthew repeats, intrigued, as the steeple rings the seventh bell.

"Yeah, blood. It's our terms of payment. And now it's yours, too," Rachel giggles, as the steeple rings the tenth bell.

"But why did you ask me to come here just before midnight?" Matt asks, as the steeple rings the last bell.

Immediately, the pianist drops to the floor, writhing in agony.

"That's why," Michael states.

"What is that?" Matt whimpers, embracing his stomach.

"Your first hunger as reborn, Matthew," Rachel explains. "I know, it's terrible, but don't worry, it will fade away as soon as you feed," she adds.

"Feed on… blood?" Matt realises, as he grimaces in pain, giving out a growl just like the one of the morning.

"Correct, Matthew," Michael smiles at him. "Now you're a vampire. Welcome to the club!"

TBC

Hope you still like it.

As always, feel free to tell me whatever you please.

And you can even ask questions, but I don't guarantee that I'll answer, lol! ;)

After all, you'll find lots of answers in next chapter!

Thanks for reading.


	6. IV: I know there's something that

Summary of the chapter: Someone makes an important discovery…

**Chapter IV : I know there's something that you're dying to tell me.**

Brian lazily opened his eyes, awakened by the seagulls and the relaxing sound of the waves that lapped against the shore.

There were surely some cons of owning a house near the seashore. 

To Brian however there was none...he just loved it.

Even more when he could turn towards the night table and be informed by the alarm clock that it was 9:00 in the morning and well and truly not give a damn.

He didn't have any work-commitments.

No deadlines to meet.

This was just the first of a long series of days where he would be as free as air.

The thought only made him feel good.

He turned again, this time towards Stefan, who slept placidly, oblivious to any kind of noise- whether it was a soft feather falling on the ground or a low flying Boeing 747.

When it came to sleeping there was nothing that could wake him.

Apart from one thing.

Beginning to tease him, Brian at first applied demanding caresses on his chest before slipping his hand quickly onto his boxers, firstly, and then inside them.

Stefan moaned loudly, smiling pleased, before popping his eyes open.

His smile quickly faded away.

"Oh, it's just you. Gee, I was dreaming of Michael Stipe!" he snorted, annoyed.

Brian threw an icy look at him, turning his back to him.

"Oh, c'mon! Haven't you realized yet that you're the only one for me? I can't believe you still fall for tricks like that!"

"I think... someone needs to be taught a lesson!" Brian chuckled, jumping on his boyfriend and kissing him passionately.

"It's cool to be on holiday, isn't it?" the bassist murmured, as soon as they parted.

"Hell yeah, it is." Brian replied, holding Stefan tight.

"Why don't we take a walk around the beach? There will be no one around now. " he suggested. 

"Just because no one is around. People are conscientious and, very wisely, they stay in bed! Especially on Sunday mornings! Mostly after working hard on a Saturday night...and yesterday we worked particularly hard." Stefan reminded him, as he caressed his hair.

"It's true, but we also had fun. And the energy from the crowd was something so... " Brian comments and they both fell into a deep silence, with each of them recalling the person who had impressed him so much in the crowd.

Brian is the first who broke that awkward silence.

"That was our last concert. For two months, two fucking long months! I'll have to do without the adrenaline, that excitement, that feeling of being almost...divine." he murmured, grieving.

"No, no, honey, you are looking at the wrong side of the coin. It's not gonna work this way. Don't you remember? No more duties... total relaxation! Now you have time for doing whatever you want."

"I know, but I would swap all this free time for just one concert more." Brian sighed, becoming more and more upset.

"No, no, Bri, I can't see you like this! There must be something, anything that I can do to make you feel better, right?"

Brian was waiting for that question.

"Of course there is. Let's take a walk to the beach!" he exclaimed, lighting up.

Stef smelt a rat, forgetting his previous apprehension his mood changed.

"So, it was a plan all along! You, little manipulator!" he snapped.

"Of course it was. You know that I always get what I want! Right now I want to go to the beach… unless you can persuade me to change my mind." the singer challenged, throwing him a look.

Stefan realised what his boyfriend meant and he disappeared under the covers.

A few minutes later Brian found himself screaming-a slave to pleasure.

"Yes, yeeess!" he moaned, grasping Stefan's very short hair to pull him closer to himself.

"I don't give a fuck! Damn the beach! Speaking of fuck… carry on!" he exhorted his lover, before losing himself in another wave of pleasure that Stefan was giving to him, with a skill that had improved, year after year.

That morning, someone else proved to be an early bird.

Chris had already got up and walked towards the kitchen to have breakfast.

He found his mother welcoming him.

"Christopher! Are you already up? At this time of the day, on Sunday? After a concert? This can't be my son!" she commented, astonished, as she made the breakfast.

"Yeah, I know, what can I say? It must be the post-show adrenaline. It was fantastic! I should have listened to Matt from the beginning." the boy replied, as he switched the TV on, flicking through the channels until he found something interesting.

"Look, Mum, it's the show I saw yesterday, it's on the news!" the boy informed her, pointing at the screen. "If they frame the first rows on the left, you'll manage to see me." he added.

"Honey, I can't see you in that mess, but… hang on! The man on the stage… is that? It's Mr Molko!" the woman spluttered, stunned.

Well, Chris was even more stunned.

"Excuse me, how do you know Placebo's frontman?"

"He's one of my customers." she explained.

"Mum, I hope you're talking about the estate agency you work for… unless there's a secret life you'd never told me about?"

"Where are your manners? That's no way to talk to your own mother!" she reproached him, giving him a cuff on his nape.

"OK, now I know for sure that I inherited my sense of humour from dad and not from you! I was only joking!" her son complained, as he massaged his neck.

"Of course, I was talking about the agency. You know what? I've never met such a determined customer. As soon as I showed him the house, he liked that so much that he immediately made an offer for it. An offer that no one would ever dare even to equalise. You can't even begin to imagine what happened when I came back to the agency with the signed contract. I'm sure I'll be elected estate agent of the month!"

"Congratulations, Mum" Chris smiled at her. "Does it mean that now Brian lives here?"

"I guess so. He didn't rent that house for a week or two, he just bought it." his mother explained, as she filled his plate with hot pancakes.

"So... Which house is it?" Chris asked her casually, sprinkling his pancakes with syrup.

"I'd better not tell you...professional confidentiality and all."

"Oh, c'mon, you're not a Doctor who made the Hippocratic oath! You can tell me! What's the worst that could happen? Besides, I know you're dying to tell me!"

"Weeelll... It's the detached house the Philligans offered for sale, you know, the one near the beach. Anyway, I didn't tell you anything."

"But I've got to tell to a friend of mine, well, two friends, it's better that someone control him..."

"Chris, be careful!" her mother warned him, already regretting giving him such a precious information.

"Don't worry, Matt and Dom will be very discreet," her son assured. "I'll warn them later, but right now...breakfast!"

"SOMEONE TRIED TO DO ME ACHE/ IT'S WHAT I'M AFRAID OF" Matthew sang at the top of his voice, along with the Brian who dominated his stereo.

He was already up, but for a main reason: his mother allowed him to go to the concert if he would tidy up his room the day after.

No matter how much he would have enjoyed to lay lazily under the covers of his bed, he had been up for almost one hour and was already working hard.

After 9:00 am., judging a tolerable time of the day, he had switched on his stereo, to make one of his beloved Placebo's CDs keep him company. When his stereo had played '36 Degrees' the boy couldn't resist singing along.

After all, everyone in the house was already up… and after all Matthew's countless guitar and piano sessions, especially when he was in his creative phase, his neighbours had given up complaining about the noise.

"4 7 2 3 9 8 5 I GOTTA BWEATHE TO STAY ALIVE/ AND 1 4 2 9 7 8 FEELS LIKE I'M GONNA SUFFOCATE " Matt sang, jumping with an athletic leap on the desk to dust the shelves and his worshipped posters.

"14 16 22 THIS SKIN THAT TURNS TO BLISTER BLUE/ SHOULDERS, TOES AND KNEES, I'M 36 DEGWEES" he shouted himself hoarse, jumping from the desk to the already made bed

"SHOULDERS, TOES AND KNEES, I'M 36 DEGWEES/ SHOULDERS, TOES AND KNEES, I'M 36 DEGWEES / SHOULDERS…"

"Matthew, take the phone!" his mother interrupted him, turning off his stereo and giving him the cordless.

"Who is it?" Matt grumpily wondered, not happy with the interruption.

"Chris." she answered.

"Why the hell is he already up?" the boy wondered again.

"There's only a way to find it out, ask him." his mother replied, leaving him alone.

"You have just interrupted one of my best Placebo covers, I wish you have a good reason for doing that." Matthew hissed.

"Good morning to you, too, Bells, yep, I'm fine thank you," Chris said, sarcastically. "Believe me, I have a damn good reason."

"I'm listening." the other snorted.

"Do you remember the Philligans?"

"Do you mean the family who has moved to London three months ago? Yes, why? You know that I've never gotten along with Ralph very much, quite the contrary-"

"Yes...but it's not about Ralph or his family, it's about their detached house, do you know they offered it on sale?" Chris interrupted.

"Yep, Chris, but.. gee, I don't give a damn to the Philligans' detached house, I'm not bloody looking for a house!" the other snapped.

"Bells, if you don't stop being a idiot, I swear that I won't feel like telling you what I know and, trust me, you do want to know what I know." Chris insisted.

"OK, I'll behave. C'mon, tell me what you know."

A minute after, Matthew gave out a scary scream that made his mother and his grandmother run to him, concerned.

They didn't have the time to enter his room, because he fled out, excited as never before.

"_IF_IComeBackI'!" the guy exclaimed all at once, without even pausing to breathe, before disappearing.

He came back a few seconds later, in a rush.

"WaitI''tGoOutLikeThis!" he stated, still forgetting to take a single breath.

Like a twister, he headed towards his cupboard, grabbing the first pair of blue jeans and the first sweater he managed to found, setting his hair in record time.

"NowI'." he greeted the two women, running away.

"I'll never understand your nephew!" the younger woman asserted.

"Neither will I, but he's such a dear boy," the older one replied, smiling. "Wait a minute. Why is it that when he behaves well he's _your son_ and when he acts weird he becomes _my nephew_?" she added.

Half an hour later, Matthew reached his destination in record time. Panting because of the running.

He regretted hurrying because if he had been calmer he would have been in a better state.

However, leaning against the white gate of the former Philligans' house someone was waiting for him-someone who rarely, if ever, was not fit to be seen.

"Dom, what the hell are you doing here?" an astonished Matt asked him whilst approaching his partner.

"Did you really believe that Chris only told you? After all, I have to keep you in check!" his boyfriend explained, as he passed one hand through his perfect, showy hair and set better the collar of his white shirt, under the black jeans jacked, matched with his black jeans.

"Damn you, Dominic, if you came here to prevent me from doing that, you're just wasting your bloody time, because I'm not fucking going to…" Matt took up a defensive position.

"What? Did you become deaf? I said that I'm here to keep you in check, I won't prevent anything, I just want to be sure that you try to show a little dignity." Dom calmed his mate down, getting closer to him.

"Oh. Thank you, then." Matt stuttered, staring at the ground and feeling a idiot for attacking the blond in that way.

Dom smiled, putting a finger on Matt's chin to make him face his gaze.

"You're welcome." Dom murmured, pecking his cheek.

"Hey, how can you be so perfect? Your hair isn't even a little bit messy. And to think that you live further away from here than I do! You didn't come here running did you?" Matthew questioned Dom, analysing him.

"It was on the way for my Dad so he offered me a ride." Dominic explained.

"That's not fair! I don't have a father who's there for me..." Matt's face darkened. "Besides, mum doesn't trust me enough to let me drive her car yet." he complained.

"I'm sure she'll let you drive it soon." Dominic comforted him. "Besides, you know what? I find you extremely sexy with this shabby look." he purred, ruffling Matt's hair, affectionately, before pulling him closer for a kiss that Matthew didn't refuse to him, at all.

"Good to know, I'm not so sure that Brian will like it as well though." the former brunet grumbled, pointing at the house and looking at his grey sweater, stained with sweat. He felt terribly awkward.

"I knew you would have ended up like that, but don't worry, I thought about it, too. Take off your sweater," Dom instructed him, opening his own rucksack and drawing out from it a pack of tissues that he handed to a shirtless Matt.

When the blue-haired guy was done, Dom handed to him the deodorant and then he gave him one of his carefully folded shirts.

"It'll be a bit large, but I guess it will suit you." he commented while helping his mate wear the red shirt.

Dom was right, it suited Matt, a lot.

The orange-haired guy drew out from his rucksack also hair gel and hairspray.

"Now, let me take care of your hair," Dom said, setting his blue locks, making them glossy. "I guess that now you're ready!" he stated, satisfied by the final result.

"Look what I'm doing, I'm preparing you to meet another guy! Aren't I the best boyfriend in the Universe?" Dom smiled, pecking the point of Matt's nose.

"You're my guardian angel." Matt murmured, looking at him with eyes full of thankfulness.

"Nah, I don't think so...You couldn't do certain things with angels." Dom winked at him.

"Maybe something like this?" Matt asked his boyfriend rhetorically, before smashing his mouth against his.

When they parted, Matt's whole attention was drawn by something else, or rather someone.

"Oh my, it's him!" the former brunet exclaimed excitedly.

Dominic followed Matthew's gaze, realising that Brian had just left his house.

Since Stefan didn't want to get up from their bed, the brunet had decided to visit the beach on his own.

As soon as he approached to the gate, he saw something, or rather someone, he didn't expect to see again.

Oh my, it's him, so he _is_ real!

TBC

Once again, cliff hanger *laughs evilly*

Some notes:

- I don't know what Chris's mom job is, but I needed this for the story ;)

- I'd pay to hear Matthew singing '36 Degrees', aaawww.

- How cute is Dom in this part? 3

Disclaimer: Just like I said, the song Matthew sang is '36 Degrees ' by Placebo.

The title of the chapter is taken from 'Agitated ' lyrics, by Muse.

Hope you'll like it, feel free to tell me whatever you think, even criticism can help ;)


	7. VA:There's never been so much at stake

1- Sorry for the huge late! although I guess I'm translating this fic only for my betas by then, lol!  
2- If you're afraid this is not a BellDom story, believe me, it is, there's a lot of Belldom in it, it started BellDom and it will end BellDom , just trust in my BellDom heart (lol, I guess I said 'BellDom ' way too many times.. I love that word -3 )  
3- for the ones who follow those fics, 'Eurotrip' is on its way and I'll try to update 'You're the cause of all this ' this week ^^

Summary of the chapter: Matthew and Dominic meet Brian and Stefan… and jealousy is in the air!

Disclaimer : the title of the chapter is taken from 'Every You, Every Me ' lyrics, by Placebo.

**Chapter****VA:****There's****never****been****so****much****at****stake**

Matthew couldn't believe his luck.  
Of course, he had just rushed there, without thinking, only hoping to meet his idol.  
However, between the simple hoping and the real succeeding there was a big difference.

There wasn't a second to waste.

He recalled the lyrics of a song that he was working on.

Actually, he had already finished it months ago, he only had to find the title, but there was time for that.

He concentrated on one of the sentence he repeated in the chorus

_And__I__'__ll__do__it__on__my__own_.

So following that advice he was about to do it on his own.

"Brian, Brrriiiiiiiaaaaaaaannnn!" he exclaimed, jumping and waving his arms, in order to draw his attention.

Dominic rolled his eyes, as Brian found the scene in front of him amusing.

"I could have understood if you were in the crowd and needed me to notice you, but since you're here, a few inches from me, you've already drawn my attention!" Brian exclaimed, remaining on the other side of the gate.

- That hair already helps you do that! - he thought.

Matthew listened to him entranced and stared at him with a look that can only be described as between dumbstruck and unbelieving, as the only neuron left in his brain formulated one thought only.

- Brian Molko is talking with me. He's starting a conversation. He's interacting with me! -

Yeah, it was a single neuron, but it formulated thoughts with correctness of speech.

"Please, excuse him, I assure you that usually he acts more normally… well, more or less!" Dom justified his boyfriend, almost feeling pity for him.

"Okay." Brian grumbled, staring at Matthew in disbelief.

- I'd better keep myself at this side of the gate. - the front man reckoned.

Matt recovered from that sort of trance.

"Brian, believe me, I'm your biggest fan ever, I owe you everything. You know, songs like 'Nancy Boy', 'My Sweet Prince ' and 'Burger Queen ' made me open my eyes. I understood who I am and what I really want." Matt explained, overwhelming Brian with his flow of words, although he was slower than usual.

"For the record, I'm what he really wants. " Dominic pointed out, proudly, stretching his hand to Brian, through the barriers of the gate. 

Brian willingly shook his hand.

"So, what's your name?" the elder guy asked them, although he was mainly talking with Matthew.

"I'm Matthew, but Matt is ok, as well. Everyone calls me 'Bells' 'cause it's short for my surname, which is Bellamy. If you want, you can even call me my middle name, which is Ja... "

"Geez! I've just asked what your name is, I didn't mean to start this endless journey in the history of your register office!" Brian snapped.

Matthew stared at the ground, mortified, as his mate chuckled.

"I'm Dom. See? Short, simple, fast." the former blond smiled at the rock star.

"Good. However, you, little thing," Brian turned to Matt and he raised his gaze. "I guess I'll call you Baby-Blue. It suits you!" Brian decided.

Dom stared at the brunet disappointed, as Matthew nodded, beaming.

"Okay, now you can tell me. How did you manage to find me?" the rock star asked them.

"Well, you know, we..." the former blond started, but the former brunet cut him off.

"We followed you, yesterday, after the show, as discrete as ever." Matthew invented.

His only answer, Brian burst out laughing.

"Discrete? You two? With that hair? Oh, please, don't make me laugh. No, wait! I'm already laughing! Anyway, my body-guards would have seen you within a 5km radius. Now, seriously, how the hell did you manage to find me?" he insisted.

Matt and Dom exchanged a look, deciding to tell the truth.

"Someone told us you moved here, at least for a while," Matthew confessed.

"I knew it! It must be that damn mailman's fault! That evil man really hates me!" Brian muttered.

Dom and Matt looked at him in confusion.

"So why did you decide to move here?" Dominic asked him, in order to change topic.

"Mind your business!" Brian replied, rudely. "Excuse me, but it's like if I asked you why you, little thing, have blue hair and you, nosey-parker, have orange hair." he added.

Both of the Englishmen stared at him, disappointed.

Correction. Dom was disappointed, Matt just stared at him.

"You're wrong. It's not blue, it's ' Pacific Ocean cobalt, when the sun filters through the waves and makes the water so limpid that you can see the ocean bed ' coloured hair," Matthew pointed out, with all the calm that he was occasionally capable of.

"He's right. And I don't have orange hair, I have 'Summer sky at sunset on a Californian beach, with the grain of sand brought by a soft and warm breeze.' coloured hair," Dominic pointed out, proudly.

Brian stared at them with an indescribable expression.

"What the hell do your hairdressers smoke?" he asked them, keeping as far as he could from the gate.

"No hairdressers, they are DIY dyes." Matt informed him.

"So what the hell do you smoke? No, wait, I don't want to know."

"What the hell do you have against our hair-dyes? There's a long story behind them, plus they have a symbolic meaning: just like the ocean belongs to the beach and vice versa, my Matt and I belong to each other!" Dom explained, wrapping his arms around Matt's neck and holding him tight, as the former blond stared at Brian, feeling the urge to mark his territory.

Too bad that the 'territory ' in question parted from Dom, kind of bothered.

"Yep, but, you know, ocean can flood in other seas, just like the sand can be brought by the wind and land in another beach!" Matt added, glaring at Dominic.

"But…" the orange-haired guy protested, dismayed.

"Besides, if the temperature raises at least of 0,5° degrees and stays like that for at least five months, in the ocean there will be _El__Niño._If the temperature decreases of 0,5° degrees compared to the seasonal standard, then there will be _La__Niña,__" _Matthew explained, as a know-all.

Brian stared in confusion first at Dominic and then at Matthew.

"Are you still talking about you two or now you, little thing, are babbling about the last thing you've seen at Discovery Channel?" he asked, basically at the former brunet.

"We were talking about us, but I admit that I said the last thing because I've learned it from a very interesting documentary I've seen two days ago." Matthew confessed.

"Figures!" Brian rolled his eyes.

"Lucky for me, otherwise it would mean that depending on whether the temperature increases or decreases, you tend to betray me with a boy or with a girl!" Dominic snapped.

"No, that's not the point. Can't you see? From such an irrelevant particular such us the temperature that increases or decreases of a few degrees it can depend the end of the world!" Matt talked excited, gesticulating with hands and arms.

Brian shamelessly ignored him, turning to Dom.

"Is he always like that?" he asked him.

"Do you mean so weird, crazy, catastrophic, paranoid, exaggerated or wordy?"

"All of the above?"

"The answer is yes, in any case." Dom chuckled.

"Maybe, if he listens to my theories, at least he will believe me," Matt stated, annoyed by the fact no one was understanding him

"Who?" Brian wondered, but when he turned his back he found the answer.

Drawn by all that chatting, Stefan had decided to go out and reach for Brian, at the gate.

"Hey, Bri, did you meet some new friends?" he asked him, holding his hips.

He jolted when he raised his gaze from his boyfriend and figured out who was one of those 'new friends ' in question.

"You?" he exclaimed, in disbelief.

"Me!" Dominic declared, fiercely.

"Does it mean that you two already know each other?" Brian realised, staring at both of them, bothered.

"Let's say that last night, at the show, this guy managed to catch my attention," Stefan explained, smiling at Brian, but at Dominic, too.

Matthew noticed that.

"Hey! Where the hell was I as this thing happened?"

"You were being stomped by the teenage girls who I rescued you from!" Dom replied, cockily.

"Did some teenage girls stamp you?" Brian chuckled.

"That's not the bloody point!" Matthew snapped as he looked daggers at his boyfriend.

"Bri, where's your manners? You have guests and you keep them far from you? Please, come here," Stefan invited them in, opening the gate, before Brian could stop him.

"No, Stef, what did you do?" Brian yelped, but it was too late.

"C'mon, Brian, don't be rude!" the bassist scolded the front man.

Dominic and Matthew crossed the threshold, each one placing himself in front of their favourite member of Placebo.

"Thank you, you're so kind!" Dom smiled at Stefan. "By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet to you. I'm Dominic and he's Matthew!" the orange-haired guy explained, shaking his hand.

"Don't you think it's hot here? If I were you, I would take off that T-shirt," Dom commented, casually.

"I'm okay like this. Anyway, you can talk! You're the guy who's wearing a shirt and jacket!"

"We're not talking about me. I don't have your physique. Plus, you're Swedish!" Dom insisted.

"Well, news flash! Not all Swede's dislike hot weather y'no!"

Not very far from them, there was another kind of speech.

"I can't believe it! I'm talking with you, Brian Molko. A few inches from you!" an extremely excited Matthew exclaimed.

"Well, we were talking before, too." Brian pointed out.

"Yeah, but there was a gate between us, before." Matt explained.

- That holy gate that made me feel so protected! - Brian brooder over, although he had to admit that, despite his creepy hair and attitude, there was something in that skinny guy, in his way of moving, of talking and seeing the world, something that fascinated Brian, inexorably.

(End part A)

About the colour of Matt and Dom's hair , since I'm the author I have permission to keep calling them the *blue* haired guy and the *orange* haired guy, otherwise it could take me ages to write that, lol!

Another little disclaimer , the lyrics from the song 'this ' Matthew is working on are from 'Muscle Museum ' by Muse, of course! ^^

Hope you like it, but whatever you think tell me, pleeease, even a word can make my day

p.s. I'm translating the new chapter of 'Change ' right now, be patient ^^


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